Capturing the world through photography, video and multimedia

Workers from the Spanish airline Iberia protest against job cuts at Barajas Airport. Today is the last day of a planned five-day strike held by Iberia workers in response to a proposal to cut 3,800 jobs.

Wounded Syrians sit together after a powerful car bomb exploded near the headquarters of Syria's ruling Baath party in the center of Damascus. The blast sent thick smoke billowing across the capital's skyline and all roads in the area were quickly sealed off, an AFP correspondent said.

Snow falls on the burned-out remains of JJ's at the Country Club Plaza shopping district. A Missouri Gas Energy official said a subcontractor working for a cable company hit a natural gas line with an underground borer more than an hour before Tuesday's explosion.

A demonstrator is pushed along by an advancing line of riot police during a 24-hour general strike called by leading unions to protest the Greek government's continuing austerity measures ahead of an audit by international creditors. The strike disrupted airline schedules, ferries and hospital services.

Ukrainian lawmakers huddle on the parliament floor after proceedings were brought to a halt by opposition members protesting the practice of absentee voting in parliament, which can result in more votes being cast than there are delegates present.

Ethnic Albanian children look out the window of their home in the southern part of the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica. European Union-brokered talks between the prime ministers of Serbia and Kosovo -- thought to be tackling the sensitive issue of the ethnic Serbian minority living in northern Kosovo -- were due to resume Wednesday in Brussels.

Kashmiris light candles as a three-day strike began in Indian-controlled Kashmir to protest the secret execution and burial by government officials of a Kashmiri man this month in New Delhi. Mohammed Afzal Guru had been convicted of involvement in a 2001 attack on India’s Parliament.The protesters were demanding the return of Guru's remains.

A sedated Asiatic black bear, also known as a moon bear, receives a checkup from veterinarians after its arrival with two other moon bears from Xiangjiang Safari Park in China as part of an animal exchange program. The new additions will join Singapore's famous Night Safari attraction when their quarantine ends in early March.

A Santa Ana police officer walks by a deceased body at the McFadden Avenue off-ramp from the southbound 55 Freeway. At least four people are dead after a shooting spree stretching from Ladera Ranch into Tustin and Orange.

Yemeni soldiers and firefighters work to extinguish fire at the site of a plane crash in Sanaa, Yemen. A Yemeni official says a military plane on a training exercise crashed into a neighborhood in the country's capital, Sanaa, killing and injuring scores of people.

The father of South African Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius, Henke, right, reacts as relatives comfort each other after Oscar Pistorius' bail hearing was adjourned at the Magistrate Court in Pretoria. Pistorius is battling to secure bail as he appeared on charges of murdering his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day.

Jordanian soldiers help Syrian refugees disembark from a vehicle after crossing the border from Syria into Jordan, near Mafraq. Jordan says it is hosting about 350 Syrian refugees, including more than 90,000 at Zaatari desert refugee camp, near the border with Syria. The country provides free health and education services for more than 200,000 United Nations-registered Syrian refugees, according to officials.

An Israeli border policeman fires with anti-riot ammunition toward Palestinian demonstrators, not pictured, during a protest to support Palestinian prisoners, outside Ofer, an Israeli military prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Poland's Karolina Eriemen, left, Canadian Kelsey Serwa, Swiss Jorinde Mueller and Canadian Marielle Thompson jump during the Ski Cross final race at the Snowboarding and Free Style World Cup Test Event at the Snowboard and Free Style Center in Rosa Khutor near the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Strikers employed by Spanish airline Iberia clash with baton-wielding police at Madrid-Barajas airport, as they launched a five-day action against job cuts. Iberia's cabin crew, ground staff and maintenance workers are striking from Monday to Friday in the first of a series of three five-day strikes to protest plans to axe 3,800 jobs.

Carnival revelers move through the city making music at the "Morgestraich" ("morning prank") celebrations in Basel. The "Morgestraich" marks the beginning of the carnival of Basel lasting 72 hours, which attracts thousands of spectators from Switzerland as well as from Germany, France and Luxembourg.

A woman leaves a shop with a broken window, among the damages from a meteorite exploding over the region last week. A total of 53 pieces of space debris have been brought for analysis to the university in Yekaterinburg, with the largest being about 1 centimeter in diameter, and the smallest is about 1 millimeter.

Bangladeshi people shout slogans against a nationwide general strike called by the country's largest Islamic party in Dhaka. The Jamaat-e-Islami party has enforced the strike in Dhaka to oppose an ongoing war crimes trial. Party leaders stand trial for their roles in the nation's 1971 independence war against Pakistan.

Indian youngsters play cricket during an anti-malaria fumigation in Mumbai. Municipal authorities have identified areas of the city where accumulated water offers a breeding ground for mosquitoes, encouraging a wider spread of malaria and dengue.

Pakistani Shiite Muslims sit beside the bodies of victims of a huge bomb blast. They refuse to bury them until their demands are accepted by the government in Quetta. At least 85 people were killed and about 180 injured when about explosives hidden in a water tanker ripped through a market Saturday in Quetta.

A supporter of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez holds a photo of him as she celebrates his return, outside the Carlos Arvelo Military Hospital. Chavez returned to Venezuela early Monday after more than two months of medical treatment in Cuba following cancer surgery.

In Europe, a woman takes shelter from the rain and the flooding at a bus stop, by standing on a bench, on a flooded highway linking Athens with its port of Piraeus; a person walks by an iced fountain in northern France; and Spanish airline workers protest against job cuts at Barajas Airport in Madrid during a five-day strike held by Iberia cabin crew, maintenance workers and ground staff in response to the planned loss of 3,800 jobs.

Carnival revelers move through the city of Basel making music at the “Morgestraich” (“morning prank”) celebrations in Switzerland. The “Morgestraich” marks the beginning of the three-day carnival of Basel, which attracts thousands of spectators from Switzerland as well as from Germany, France and Luxembourg.

A supporter of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez holds a photo of him as she celebrates his return, outside the Carlos Arvelo Military Hospital in Caracas. Chavez returned to Venezuela early Monday after more than two months of medical treatment in Cuba following cancer surgery.

In Benghazi, Libyans release a lantern in the air at Nasr Square during the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled longtime dictator Moammar Kadafi; Bangladeshi people shout slogans against a nationwide general strike called by the country’s largest Islamic party in Dhaka; and Pakistani Shiite Muslims sit beside the bodies of victims of a huge bomb blast as they refuse to bury them until their demands are accepted by the government in Quetta.

On the lighter side of the news, a mother-to-be has her belly painted at the Nine Months Fair for new and prospective parents in Amsterdam. In Germany, members of a flash mob defy sub-zero temperatures to perform an improvised version of the Harlem Shake in front of the Berlin Cathedral.

Elsewhere, An Asiatic black bear, also known as the moon bear, gets a checkup after arriving in Singapore from China as part of an animal exchange program; actor James Franco gives a fan a thrill at the Japanese premiere of “Oz the Great and Powerful” in Tokyo; and Japanese plum blossoms are in bloom after a snowfall in Misaki.